Non-Uniform Illumination Image Restoration for Deep-Sea Exploration with A New Scattering Model

Deep-sea exploration has garnered increasing global interest. Non-uniform illumination and scattering from suspended particles in deep-sea environments significantly impair underwater image visibility. However, existing methods have limitations when dealing with strongly scattered scenes under non-uniform lighting conditions. To address these challenges, we introduce a novel deep-sea scattering model specifically tailored to the unique optical properties of the deep-sea environment, with a particular focus on the non-uniform active lighting conditions. We then propose a reconstruction algorithm that restores images by solving an optimization problem, integrating both the physical scattering model and a visual correction term. Evaluations across six deep-sea scenarios demonstrate superior performance, achieving 40% lower FADE scores and 5% higher HyperIQA scores than state-of-the-art methods, with notable improvements in texture preservation and color fidelity.